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SPEECH OF MR. STORER, 



IN DEFENCE OF 



GEN. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 




TO WHICH IS ANNEXED, 



A SHORT SKETCH OF THE 



PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF HIS LIFE. 



UaltCmore: 

PRINTED BY SANDS & NEILSQN. 

■ . ;• 

A". E. Corner of Charles and Market tlreeis: ' • 

1836. 



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3 S"0 



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SPEECH OF MR. STORER, OF OHIO, 

IN DEFENCE OP THE CHARACTER OF 

,GEN. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, 

[Dcliveved in the House of Representatives of the United States, April 6, 183G.] 



Mr. Chairman : The debate upon this bill has already been sufficiently 
protracted, and every member of the committee, lam satisfied, is prepared, 
to vote upon the question it involves. I am prepared, and iiave been 
for the last four weei^s, to meet the appropriation for the naval service with 
my hearty sanction. I had not intended to. offer any remarks on the 
subject under discussion, and would have been content to have remained a 
hearer rather than a speaker, if I had not heard, within the last few days, a 
tirade upon this floor, which a proper sense of public, as well as private duty, 
will not permit me to pass by without the most unequivocal animadversion. 

Sir, I regard the navy and army, though different arms of the public 
defence, and requiring the adaptation of different means to their effective 
usefulness, yet upon one point that both must unite. I mean that esprit 
du corps which alone can elevate and sustain the character of either profes- 
sion. It is vain for any Government to rely on the mere appliances of war, 
the physical material of an army or a navy alone; unless her soldiers and 
her sailors are gallant men, and their well-earned reputations are preserved, 
1 would say hallowed in her history, every noble incentive to effort is ex- 
tinguished, every glorious throb of patriotic enthusiasm is hushed. We 
may improve, by the expenditure of millions, our navy yards, we may in- 
crease our marine, we may erect new fortifications, and, if you please, add 
to the numerical strength of our army; but unless the true American spirit 
exists throughout the Union, unless it pervades this hall, that spirit, which 
rejoices in the triumph of our arms, and mingles in the holy enthusiasm 
that is enkindled at the recital of heroic deeds, the sun of American glory is 
set. Who, sir, will fight for freedom, when the only reward he can expect 
from his country is the neglect, the pity, or the scorn of those for whose 
defence he has periled his life, and expended his fortune ? 

Sir, this is a war among the tombs, and the hand that would pluck the 
laurel from the brow of the true soldier, would obliterate his epitaph. It 
is no matter upon whom such an assault is made, the living or the dead, he 
who has survived the battle shock, or he who has fallen in the thickest of 
the fight; better, far better would it be, that no trace of American chival- 
ry should be found in our annals, tha^ no record of our martial deeds should 



remain for future ages, if the leaves of our history are to be tlius recklessly 
torn out and scattered to the winds. 

1 have been induced to rise and ask the attention of this committee, 
while I reply to the remarks of the honorable genUeman from Kentucky, 
(Mr. Hawes,) who athlressed the House on Monday last. That gentleman, 
in his disciis.«ion of the Keniiickv resolutions on the public lands, devoted 
the greater part of his speech to an ailnck upon a disiingiiished citizen, who 
has long held a high place in the estimation of (he American People. Sir, 
that citizen is mv personal friend; lie is one of my immediate constituents; 
above all, he is the candidate of a numerous and proud-spirited portion of 
his countrymen for the highest office in their gift; he stands before the peo- 
ple of this Union, aided by no Government press or Government patronage, 
his friends have no rewards to distribute, and do not act upon the principle 
that punishments even, are to be enforced in the day of political retribution; 
he and they profess to love their country more than party; and governed as 
they believe, by a sacred regard to tlie constitution and the laws, will 
not surrender their freedom while they have the ability to assert and de- 
fend it. 

The gentleman from Kentucky attempted, though very discursively, to 
trace the military character of Gen. Harrison from the batde of Tippecanoe 
to the surrender of Proctor's army at the Thames. He did not refer to his 
early career in the Northwest, nor to that decisive engagement on the Mau- 
mee in 1794, when, as the aid-de-camp of Wayne, Gen. Harrison acquired 
an enviable reputation for valour and military talent. These events, sir, 
were passed over, whether because they were unknown, or did not suit 
ihc object the genUeman had in view, I cannot now decide. Heave to oth- 
ers the solution of the doubt, and commend the study of our early history to 
those who have taken the characters of our "war-worn soldiers" into their 
exclusive keeping. Before I close my remarks, 1 shall allude to these e- 
Tents again. 

What reason does the gentleman give for his attack; so ill-timed, and 
J must say, so ungenerous ? Why, sir, he affects to reply to a passing ob- 
servation of his colleague, uttered two months ago in the debate upon "the 
fortification bill of the last session." Since that period thegendeman has 
had the floor, and might have been gratified with a hearing: but he has 
postponed his remarks, until it wouhl seem some political object was to bo 
subserved by the destruction of exalted wordi and heroic valor. 

The spirit of party is insatiate; it is propitiated by no sacrifice ; it is soft- 
ened by no appeal. Sir, it lias no heart. Its altar, like the brazen image 
of Moloch, is always heated for its victims; and while they are writhing in 
burnmg torture, the followers of that party, like the devotees of old, cry a- 
loud to their idol, and imprecate new vengeance upon the sufferers. Ah, 
sir! we may go further widi our illustration: ihepolitical juggernaut of the 
present day, like the Indian temple, is the centre of attraction, and of infal- 
libility also; around it the crowd thickens, and from it the fuidiful dispense 
theirles.sons of political wisdom — les.sons learned from one common source, 
and taught as not to he controveried, questioned or impugned. Beneath 
the wheels of this cumbrous nia.ss, some are willing to prostrate them- 
selvcB for the glory of the cause, while others give impetus to its desolating 



progress. And is it at the great feast of Brahma, that we are called on to 
witness the ceremony of party immohuion ? Must our eyes behold the 
preparation for these barbarous rites until the last pang of the victim is lost 
in the shouts of those who minister at the sacrifice ? Must we see all this, 
and yet be told that we should holt! our peace ; that our only answer must 
be that of expressive silence ? Sir, I cantiot consent to such a system ; and 
come what will, widi a clear conscience, and an unshaken spirit, however 
feeble may be my power, I repudiate it as fatal to liberty, and destructive of 
all high and generous impulses. 

The gentleman from Kentucky has imputed to Gen. Harrison a total want 
of military conduct in the bloody battle of Tippecanoe, and directly charg- 
es, on the authority, as he says, of the report of the times, that, trusting "to 
the faith of an Inchan chief, he suffered his army to be drawn into a posi- 
tion which required the greatest bravery to prevent their overthrow;" and 
again, he asserts that "the General was at the head of brave troops, who fail- 
ed only in sheddifg glory on their country for the want of a proper com- 
mander." These, sir, are his charges, gravely made upon the floor of this 
House, in the presence of an American Congress. [Here the Chairman re- 
minded Mr. Store R that he was discussing a subject not before the com- 
mittee; but hearing the cry of Go on, go on, from many members, Mr. S. 
proceeded.] I know, Mr. Chairman, that the debate is not stricUy in order; 
I am but replying to the gendeman who took occasion to address the House 
upon the Kentucky resolutions, and found opportunity, as well as permis- 
sion, to indulge in those attacks which I am now endeavouring to repel. 
He, sir, I presume, will not be allowed to take the course he did, while I 
am compelled to be silent. I know full well that the present period is the 
only one, when an opportunity will be offered -me to defend the reputation 
of a gallant soldier. 1 deem it, sir, as the '"■ tabula in naufragio,'''' upon 
which 1 am to contend with the winds an,d waves of party violence ; as the 
only ground where I can stand without being controlled by the caprice of 
party rule, or the more odious tyranny of the previous question. As it is, 
then, my only hope, I shall follow out the gentleman's course, and contro- 
vert, as I trust I shall, his several positions. 

The batUe of Tippecanoe is matter of history; it was fought 24 years a- 
go, when the gentleman from Kentucky was a youth; and whatever are 
the sources of his information, let us appeal to the annals of the times — for 
by them at last the question must be determined. When Gen. Harr'son was 
called into the field he was Governor of the Indiana Territory, and such 
was the confidence of the President of the United States, Mr. Madison, in 
hia military qualifications, that a regiment of regular troops, and one, too, 
which signalized itself afterwards, was placed under his command. His lit- 
tle army, in addition to that regiment was composed of several companies 
of Indiana militia, a small corps of mounted riflemen, and a troop of horse 
from Jefferson county, Kentucky. The officers who led these brave men 
were distinguished for their talent and valor; and when, in the stillness of 
the night, the crack of the rifle broke upon their slumbers, they sprang with 
their comrades into the midst of the light. Sir, there was no flinching 
there; it was a glorious, though a bloody field ; when, with a force of seven 
hundred men, more than nine hundred well armed and desperate savages 



were comppllcil to give way; and llic f;icl that such perfect order and disci- 
pline i)ievailcd througliout tliat srone orrarna<Tc, exhibits in the strongest 
light the tidcnt and the lirniness of that gallant soldier, whose voice, to use 
the hiMiruajjc of one wlio fouirlit at his side, was heard wherever "danger 
was most pressing, above tlie noise of the battle." 

Sir, before the lamented Col. Daviess joined Gen. Harrison, he address- 
ed a letter to him, from wliirh I ask to read an extract: 

''The object of this letter is to say that I am very desirous to be with you 
in this service, and certainly will attend, if I am duly informed of the day 
of rendezvous. It is but rare that any thing of the military kind is done ; 
it is still more extraordinary that a gentleman of military talents should 
conduct matters of this kind when they are to be done; since the land is 
infested with Generals so grossly incompetent. Now, under all the priva- 
cy ofa letter, I make free to tell you, tliat I have imagined there were two 
men in the West who had military talents: and you, sir, were the tirst of the 
two. It is thus an opportunity of service much valued by me. I go as a 
volunteer, leaving to you, sir, to dispose of me as you choose. No com- 
mission, I know, ran be had ; so I shall be a soldier. Perhaps some few 
young men may join me here and go on. If 1 had a fidl troop, I should 
like to be in the van-guard, very willing to be responsible for the good look 
ouu "J. H. DAVIESS. 

"His Excellency Gov. IIarriso.v. 
''August 21, ISll." 

Such was Josepli H. Daviess, whom to name is but to honor. He fell 
at an early age and in the midst of his fame, and if his departed spirit could 
be invoked to describe the horrors of that night, I feel confident the gentle- 
man from Kentucky would learn a lesson that he would not through all 
time forget; he would be told that there was one who yet survived the "fire 
and the smoke" of batde, who in the post of danger was the cool and in- 
trepid soldier, and wherever his form was seen, or his voice was heard, his 
name was the "war cry" of his troops. 

I select, sir, from McAfTee's History of the War in the West, a work pub- 
lished in Kentucky, and whose author is a warm supporter of the present 
administration, a work composed and published at the conclusion of that 
war, the following statement, which I ask the gentleman from Kentucky 
specially to peruse: "An idea was propagated by the enemies of Governor 
Harrison, after the battle of Tippecanoe, that the Indians had forced him to 
cncampon a place chosen by them, as suitable for the attack they intended. 
The place, however, was chosen by Majors Taylor and Clarke, after exam- 
ining all the enviorns of the tr)wn; and when the army of Gen. Hopkins was 
there in the following year, they all united in the opinion that a better spot 
lo resist Indians, was not to be found in the whole country." 

To susUiin these assertions, I ofler the certificates of Gen. Taylor, of In- 
diana, and Col. Siielling, formerly Captain in the llh Infantry: 

'♦The above account, taken from Ale Adbe's History of the War in the 
Western Country, as it relates to the situation of the camp occupied by the 
army under the command of Governor Harrison, on the night between the 
filh and 7ih of November, 1811, is entirely correct. The spot for encamp- 



nient was selected by Colonel Clarke (wlio acted as brigadier major to Gen. 
Boyd) and myself. Wc were directed by Gov. Harrison to examine the 
country up and down the creek until we siionld lind a suitable place for 
an encampment. In a short time we discovered the place on which the ar- 
my encamped, and to wliicli it was conducted by us. No intimation was 
given by the Indians of their wish that we should encamp there, nor could 
they possibly have known where the army would encamp until it took its 
position. The only error in the above extract is, in saying that Major 
Clarke and myself were sent back, by which it woidd appear tiiat the army 
retrograded to take up its encampment. This is not the fact. The army 
filed oil" in front of the town, at right angles to the Wabash, to reach its en- 
campment. It has ever been my belief that the position we occupied was 
the best that could be found any where near us, and 1 believe that nine- 
tcnths of the officers were of that opinion. We did not go on the Wabash 
above the town, but lam certain that there was no position below it that 
was eligible for an encampment. 

"WALLER TAYLOR." 
^^Felmanj 22, 18,17." 

""•My situation as a platoon officer prevented my having a personal know- 
ledge of the transactions above related, so far as respects tlie selection of 
the encampment of the ariny under General Harrison, by his stall" officers ; 
but, having carefully perused the extract from McAflee's history, I have no 
hesitation in saying that 1 believe it to be substantially correct; and that, in 
my opinion, the ground on which the army encamped combined the advan- 
tages of wood, water, and a defensible position, in a greater degree than a- 
ny other ground in that section of the country; the ground on the Wabash 
was wholly unfit, the highland being destitute of water, and the interval (or 
bottom land as it is called) being without wood, and incapable of being 
defended. 

"J. SNELLING Lieut. Col. Gih Infantry. 

"Washington, Felruary 28, 1817." 

I trust the committee are now satisfied that the encampment at Tippeca- 
noe was ;iot selected by the advice of an Indian chief, and I fear that the 
remarks of the gentleman from Kentucky, on every other point to which 
he has referred, will be found to be sustained by no historical evidence. 
Sir, has the gentleman read the annals of his own State, and forgotten the 
tribute that his countrymen paid to the hero of Tippecanoe in December 
1811? Yes, when, by a solemn vote of her Legislature, while her membere 
were in mourning for the loss of Daviess, Owen, and other gallant spirits 
who fell, fighting for their country, a resolution was passed, to which I 
beg leave to refer. 

'■'■Resolved, That in the late campaign against the Indians on the Wabash, 
Gov. W. H. Harrison has, in the opinion of this Legislature, behaved like 
a hero, a patriot, and a general; and that for his cool, deliberate, skilful and 
gallant conduct, in the late battle of Tippecanoe, he well deserves the warm- 
est thanks of the nation." 

This was the language of the boldest and the best of Kentucky's chival- 
ry, while her legislative halls were hung with mourning, and when, if any 



8 

iHikiiul feeling existed against General ifarrison, it would have been display- 
ed. It wa8 tlie warm, the enthusiastic expression ofgenerous feeling, spurn- 
ing the influence of those who would check its course, and boldly assert- 
ing what it honestly believed. Will die gentleman expunge this record ? 
will he blot out a page from Kentucky's history, and destroy one of the 
monuments that his own proud commonwealth has erected to the soldier 
and the patriot.^ I cannot believe it. 

But, sir, I would not confine the attention of this committee, more espe- 
cially of the honorable gentleman, to the recorded approbation of his own 
State. I must read another homily to him, in the form of a certificate of 
iJje officers of the 4th regiment: 

"The batde ofTippacanoe having terminated a campaign which lead us 
to victory and honor, it is with pain we behold aspersions in the public 
prints aiming to destroy the confidenceof our country in our late comman- 
der-in-chief. 

"Gov. Harrison having relinquished the command of the army lately em- 
ployed against the Indians, and probably as an officer left us forever, the 
present statement cannot be attributed to servile flattery, but to the true and 
honest expression of our real sentiments in favor of a general whose tal- 
ents, military science, and patriotism entide him to a high rank among the 
Avordiies of the Union, and whom we consider injured by the gross misre- 
presentations of the ignorant or designing, who are alike inimical to the 
best of governments and the best of men. 

"We therefore deem it necessary to state, as incontestible facts, that the 
commander-in-chief, throughout the campaign and in the hour of batUe, 
proved himself the soldier and the general; that on the night of the action, 
by his order, weslept on our arms and rose on our posts; that notwithstand- 
ing the darkness of the night, and the most savage cunning of the enemy 
in eluding our sentries, and rapidity in rushing through the guards, we were 
not found unprepared; that few of them were able to encounter our camp, 
and those few doomed never to return ; that in pursuance of his orders, 
which were adapted to every emergency, the enemy were defeated with a 
slaughter almost unparallelled among savages. Indeed, one sentiment of 
confidence, respect and aflection towards the commander-in-chief pervaded 
the whole line of the arfny, which any attempt to destroy we shall consider 
as an insult to our understandings and an injury to our feelings. 

"Sliould our country again require our services to oppose a civilized or 
savage loe, we should march under the command of Gov. Harrison, with the 
most perfect confidence of virtnrv and fame. 

JOKL COOK, capt. 4ih inPy. 

JOSI.AH SNELLING, capt. 4th U. S. inPy. 

R. C. BARTON, capt. 4th inPy. 

O. G. BURTON, lieut. 4th inPy. 

NATH. F. ADA.MS, lieut. 4ih reg't. inPy. 

CHARLES FULLER, lieut. 4ih regt. 

A. HAWKINSJieut. 4ih inPy. 

GEORGE GOODING, 2d lieut. 4th inPy. 

H. BbRCIISTEAD, ensign 4th regt. U. S. inPy. 

JOSIAH D. FOSTER, surgeon 4ih inPy. 

HOSEA BLOOD, act. assist, surg. 4th inPy." 



On the Ttli and 27th of December, 181 l,the several corps of Indiana and 
Kentuck}' volunteers had meetings and passed the most spirited resolutions, 
approbatory of (lie skill, talent and bravery of their general; and both branch- 
es of tlie Territorial Government of Indiana, by (heir President and Sjieak- 
er, addressed their Governor in a style and manner which bespoke their 
high estimate of his services; and is there an Indianian who lived in those 
perilous limes, whose bosom will not echo back tlie same exalted sentiment? 
I appeal to tlie gentleman from that State, now a member of this house, — 
(Mr. Carr,) who bore a part in that battle-field, and ask him to sustain me 
in the assumption I make in behalf of the feeling of his fellow-citizens. 

But before 1 leave this division of my subject, J cannot refrain from citing 
a passage from an unpretending volume, written by a private soldier of the 
4th regiment. Sir, it is the unvarnished story of a brave man, composed 
at a distance from his general, and under no other influences than truth 
and justice; and I commend it to all who hear me, more particularly to the 
delegation from New-Hampshire, as a citizen of that Slate is the author of 
the production. It was published in Keene, in 181G, by Adam Walker, 
and, at the 31st page, may be found the extract to which I allude: 

"General Harrison received a shot through the rim of his hat. In the 
heat of the action his voice was frequently heard and easily distinguished, 
giving his orders in the same calm, cool and collected manner with which 
Ave had been used to receive them on a drill or parade. The confidence 
of the troops in the general was unlimited, and his measures were well cal- 
culated to gain the particular esteem of the 4th regiment. All kinds of pet- 
ty punishments, inflicted without authority, for the most trifling errors of 
the private soldier, by the pompous sergeant, or the insignificant corporal, 
were at once prohibited. A prohibition of other grievances which had (oo 
long existed in this regiment, at once fixed in the breast of every soldier 
an aflfectionate and lasting regard for their general, the benefit of which 
was fully realized in the conduct of the troops in the engagement, as well 
as throughout the campaign." 

I have thus produced the evidence of the subaltern and the private sol- 
dier, the historian, and the legislative record; and now I would ask the gen- 
tleman, upon what does he rely to make good his charges? Where will 
he point for that common report to which he has referred to sustain his at- 
tack ? Sir, the reputation of Gen. Harrison was assailed immediately after 
the victory had been achieved; and by whom was the warfare commenced, 
by whom carried on, and how did it terminate ? Need I to recall the 
proofs I have already exhibited, that this committee may know the length 
and the breadth of that persecution which a noble mind was compelled to 
encounter; or shall I rather ask them to mark how triumphantly he passed 
through the ordeal, and came out from the fiery trial unscathed ? 

"As some tall cliff ihat lifis its awful form, 
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm. 
Though round its breast the gatlieringr clouds are spread. 
Eternal sunshine settles on its head." 

When General Harrison returned to Vincennes, it was not to assume his 
civil power only; the whole territory was threatened by tlie savage tribei, 



w 

who hung about its frontier. The celebrated Tecuraseh had planned & 
system of operation, in conjunction with the chiefs of the South and North- 
western Indians, which required the most profound knowledge of Indian 
policy to counteract: and in this new fi^ld, ilumj^fi ncit tit use the expressive 
language of the genileman, in the midst of "fire and smoke," Gen. Harrison 
di.-played his sagacity in an eminent degree. Durmg the ensuing winter 
and spring, he made every pre|)aiaiioii ilial the defence of the territory re- 
quired, and hail so completely succeeded in subduing the turbidenl spirit of 
the Indian tribes by which it was surrounded, that, on the lOih of May, 
I812,a grand council was held at Mississiueway, where thirteen tribes were 
repiesenied by their chiefs. ^I'he result of this meeting was the apparent 
restoration of all former friendship and intercourse, though, on the part of 
some of the tribes^ the pledge was afterwards broken. 

When the news of war with Great Britain reached the West, the hero of 
Tippecanoe was at his post; it found him ready to gird on again his sword. 
Early in the month of August, the Governor of Kentucky sent to him by 
express, requesting his presence at Frankfort wiUiout delav. On his arri- 
val at that place, he was immediately consulted as to the disposition of that 
part of the quota of Kentucky militia destined to protect the Northwest^ and 
though these troops were commanded by an officer of high rank in his 
own State, yet, following out the burst of public sentiment, and by the ad- 
vice of Shelby, Greenup, Clay, Todd, Colonel R. M. Johnson and General 
Hopkins, Governor Scott, who had been a revolutionary soldier, conferred 
upon General Harrison the brevet commission of Major General in thx; Ken- 
lucky militia, and appointed him to lead her brave troops to the frontier. — 
This distinguished honor, thus bestowed longafter the batde on the Wabash 
had been fought, and when the reports prejudicial to his military charac- 
ter, to which the gentleman alluded, if ever well founded, were most preva- 
lent, was the proudest tribute ever paid to merit. It was no ordinary com- 
pliment to be selected by a gallant and high-spirited people as their leader 
and their rallying point; a people who never knew danger except to over- 
come it; who were exquisitely alive to all those noble impulses which, 
while they extend a generous confidence, are yet tenacious of the slightest 
innovation upon individual honor. If they were now in this hall, what 
answer would they return to these charges.^ What mingled emotions of 
regret and indignation would rise in their bosoms, to find their estimate of 
talent, and courage, and patriotism, so utterly valueless. Happy would it 
be for those who survive, if their generous coi^fidence was not now reproach- 
ed, and their devotion to their country's service suspected ; and happy, 
thrice happy is it for the dead that detraction cannot enter their prison-house. 
I hold it that such must be the predicament of Kentucky's patriotic sons, 
if the assertions of the honorable gentleman are sustained by evidence. It 
must come to this, that liiey held forth to the worhi one vyho was worthy 
to lead her armies and preserve her fame, or that they voluntarily bowed 
down to humiliating self-degradation. Sir, I cannot doubt the purity of their 
motives, and the heroic spirit by which they were inspired — they knew 
the man to whom tliey deputed power; ihey knew his ability, his integrity, 
and his chivalrous fueling. Tliey arled not merely for the present age, 
but for posterity, and their conduct will stand out, in all after time, conspic- 
uous among the monuments of our national glory. 



n 

■ Mr. Chairman, we are told of the slaughter at the river Raisin, and ask- 
ed with emphasis, why did not Harrison come to the rescue ? He was near 
that field ofcariiage, said (he gentleman, "with a competent force," and yet 
he hesitated to proceed. Let us recur to ilie history of the day: On the 22d 
of January, 1813. the hloody scenes of ihe Ivaisin occurred; on the 20ih of 
the same montti Gen. Harrison arrived at the rapids of the Maumee; Gen. 
Winchester had already left ihe Rapids, the troops remaining there being un- 
der the command of Gen. Payne. luimetHatelyafter his arrival, Gen. Harrison 
despatched Capt. Hart, the inspector general, to Winchester, vvilh the in- 
telligence of ihe movements in his rear, and instructed him to maintain his 
position. The next day Winchester sent a message to Harrison, that if his 
force vvas increased to one thousand or twelve hundred men he would be 
able to sustain his ground. On the same morning a detachment, under 
Gen. Payne, was ordered to Frenchtown, which, with a battalion already on 
its march, under Major Colgrove, made the force stronger than Gen. Win- 
chester required. Sir, they were one day too late. On the 22d, at 10 o'- 
clock, the news of the attack reached the Rapids, and immediately the 
whole force was put in requisition, and a movement made to the Raisin; 
in a short time it was ascertained that the defeat had been total, and a coun- 
cil of general and field officers being held, it was decided to be imprudent 
and unnecessary to proceed farther. The safety of the frontier from an ir- 
ruption of an enemy flushed with victory required that the troops should be 
concentrated upon the most exposed points, and it would have been the 
height of folly for the commanding general to have thrown himself, with 
the small force under his control, in the face of an enemy more numerous 
and better equipped than his own army. Mr. Chairman, a gallant officer 
served in that campaign, and afterwards fell on the Niagara frontier, in the 
glorious sortie from Fort Erie. I mean Col. Wood, who, to use the language 
of Gen. Brown, in his official letter, "died as he had lived, without a feel- 
ing but for the honor of his country, and the glory of her arms." That 
officer, sir, has left the following testimony in his private journal, now in 
the library at West Point, and which I extract from I\IcAtiee, who had ac- 
cess to it. Speaking of the tragedy of the Raisin, he says: 

"This news, for a moment, paralyzed the army, or at least the thinking 
part of it. for no one could imagine that it was possible for him. Gen. Win- 
chester, to be guilty of such a hazardous step. Gen. Harrison was aston- 
ished at the impr\idence and inconsistency of such a measure, which, if 
carried into execution, could be viewed in no other light than as attended 
with certain and inevitable destruciion to the left wing. Nor was it a 
difficult matter (or any one to foresee and predict the terrible consequen- 
ces which were sure to mark the result of a scheme no less rash in its 
concpption than hazardous in its execution." 

With respect to reinforcing the detachment, a recurrence to facts proves 
that Harrison is not blameable, as he made every exertion in his power to 
support it. It was not until the night of the I6ih. that he received the in- 
formation, indirectly, through Gen. Perkins, that Winchester had arrived 
at the rapids. By the same express he was advised that Winchester wzerfi- 
ia/fd some unknown movement against the enemy. Alarmed at this in- 
formation, he immediately made every exertion which the situation of hi^ 



12 

aOaire required. H« wai then at Upper Sandusky, his principal deposit of 
provisions and munitions of war, which is sixty miles from the rapids by 
ihe way of Portage river, and seventy-six by the way of Lower Sandusky, 
and about tliirty-eight more from the river Raisin. He immediately sent 
an express direct to the rapids for information ; gave orders for a corps of 
three hundred men to advance wiih the artillery, and escorts to proceed 
with provisions, and in the morning he proceeded himself to Lower San- 
dusky, at which place he arrived in the night following, a distance of forty 
miles, which he travelled in seven hours and a half, over roads requiring 
such exertion that the horse of his aid. Major Mukill, fell dead on their 
arrival at the fort. lie found there that General Perkins had prepared to 
send a battalion to the rapids, in conformity with a requisition from Gen. 
Winchester. That battalion was despatched the next morning, the ISth, 
with a piece of artillery ; but the roads were so bad that it was unable, by 
its utmost exertions, to reach the river Raisin, a distance of seventy-fxve 
miles, before the fatal disaster. 

General Harrison then determined to proceed to the rapids himself, to 
learn personally from General Winchester what were his situation and 
views. At four o'clock on the morning of the 19th, while he still remain- 
ed at Lower Sandusky, he received the information that Col. Lewis had 
been sent with a detachment to secure the pruviiions on the River Rai- 
sin, and to occupy, with the intention of holding, the village of French- 
town. There was then but one regiment and ;i battalion at Lower San- 
dusky, and the regiment was immediately put ia motion, with orders to 
make forced marches for the Rapids : and General Harrison himself imme- 
diately proceeded for the same place. On his way, he met an express with 
intelligence of the unsuccessful battle which had been fought on the pre- 
ceding day. The anxiety of General Harrison to push forward, and either 
prevent or remedy any misfortune which might occur, as soon as he was 
apprized of the advance to the river Raisin, was manifested by the great 
personal exertions which he made in this instance. He started in a sleigh 
with Gen. Perkins to overtake the battalion under Cotgrove, attended by a 
single servant. As the sleigh went very slow, from the roughness of the 
road, he took the horse of his servant and pushed on alone. Night came 
upon him in the midst of a swamp, which was so imperfectly frozen that 
the horse sank to his belly at every step. He had no resource but to dis- 
mount and lead his horse, jumping himself frqm one sod to another, which 
was solid enough to support him. When almost exhausted, he met one of 
Cotgrove's men coming back to look for his bayonet, which he said he had 
left at a place where he had stopped, and for which he would have a dol- 
lar slopped from his pay unless he recovered it. The general told him he 
would not only pardon him for the loss, but supply him with another, if 
he would assist him to gel his horse through the swamp. By his aid, the 
general was enabled to reach the camp of the batlalion. 

Very earlv on the morning of the 20lh, he arrived at the Rapids, from 
which place Gen. Winchester had gone on the preceding evening, M'ilh all 
his disposable f(jrcc, lo llie river Raisin. Nothing more coidd now be 
done, but wait the arrival of llie reinforcements from Lower Sandusky. 

The original force of Gen. Winchester had been about thirteen hundred. 



1^ 



o 



and all but three hundred were now gone it) advance. The battalion from 
Lower Sandusky was hurried on as fast as possible ; and as soon as the 
regiment arrived, three hundred and fifty strono;, on the evening of the '21st, 
the balance uf Winchester's army was ordered to proceed, which ihey did 
next morning under Gen. Payne. The force now advancing exceeded, by 
three hundred, the force deemed suflicicnt by General Winchester to main- 
tain his position. But whether sufficient or not, it is evident, from the pre- 
ceding statement of facts, that no more could be sent, and that greater ex- 
ertions. could not be made to send it in time. Instead of censure being due 
to General Harrison, he nverits praise for his prudent exertions, from the 
moment he was apprized of Winchester's arrival at the Rapids. 

'*What human means,".says Col.^Wood, "within the control of General 
Harrison, could prevent the anticipated disaster, and save that corps, which 
was already looked upon as lost, as doomed to inevitable destruction ? 
Certainly none ; because neither orders to halt, nor troops to succor him, 
could be received in time, or at least that was the expectation. He was al- 
ready in motion, and General Harrison still at Upper Sandusky, seventy 
miles in his rear. The weather was inclement, the snow was deep, and a 
large portion of the black swamp was yet open. What could a Turenne, 
or an Eugene have done, under such a pressure of embarrassing circum- 
stances, more than Harrison did .?" 

Sir, the gentleman is correct when he says that the massacre at the Rai- 
sin covered Kentucky with gloom. Not that her brave people desponded 
or faltered in their purposes ; but the sundering of so many ties that bound 
kinsmen, and friends, and neighbors together ; the desolation produced by 
so many blighted hopes, so many unrequited expectations, while they 
caused the heart to throb and the tear to start, did not quench that strong- 
er feeling which rose high above every other, and cried out for retributive 



vengeance. 



And to whom did the fathers, the sons, and the brothers, of the victims 
of that bloody field look for their leader ? Under whom did the people of 
Kentucky, burning to revenge savage, and more than savage — I mean Bri- 
tish barbarity — place themselves, as it were, en masse .'' Sir, they confid- 
ed still to their old general ; they did not impute to him any of the blame, 
any of that military delinquency, which are now charged to have been 
justly attributable to their then chosen commander. Need I refer to the 
three thousand gallant men who, in the following April, marched under his 
banner ? Can I forget to mention Green Clay, their general, and Boswell, 
and Dudley, and Caldwell and Cox, who led the Regiments that compos- 
ed this elite of old Kentucky ^ Shall I rather, as the proof is so clear, and 
the occasion is so apposite, ask the gentleman to read a communication 
from his colleague, who was brave amongst the bravest in the conflicts of 
the Northwest. On the 4lh of July, 1813, Col. Richard M. Johnson ad- 
dressed a letter to General Harrison, from which I ask the committee to per- 
mit me to read an extract: 

"Two great objects induced us to come : First, to be at the regaining of 
our own territory, and Detroit, and at the taking of Maiden ; and, second- 
ly, to serve under an officer in whom we have confidence. We would 
not have engaged in the service without such a prospect — we did not want 



M 

to serve under cowarJs nor traitors, but under one, who had proved him- 
self to be wise, prudent and hraveP 

Mr. Chairman, the rarth has closed over the martvred heroes who fpll at 
the Rai-^in — hnt that fielil ofslatiffhter can never he fiutrnttpn. Long, lonjr 
after the present generation shall have slept with thpir lathers, the brave 
spirits of other limes will, when they visit the hanks of that monrn nl riv- 
er, recall the murderous scenes of the terrific dav, when, in the depth of a 
northern winter, contending not merely with the elements, but an over- 
whelminor force, a Spartan band nobly sustained the American characer — 
when in the midst of perils the most stern, while death in all the horrid 
forms of savage cruelty met him on every side, the sonl of the backwoods 
volunteer rose superior to the conflict, and coolly prepared for tiie issue, 
however fearful. Yes the field of Frenchtown is already consecrated 
ground — no monument is there to point out the resting^ place of the brave, 
but the traveller, while musino' among the few traces that yet mark the spot, 
involimtarily stavs his footsteps, and expresses the beautiful sentiment 
inscribed upon the tomb of a foreign warrior : 

"Siste viator, beroa calcas !" 

Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Kentucky has alluded to Fort Ste- 
phenson, and, sir, the brilliant, I misrht sav. unparalleled defence of that for- 
tress bv Major Croghan, is a bright page in our annals — it is now too late 
to dim its lustre. Whatever may have occurred between Gen. Harrison 
and a subaltern officer, in the strict discharge of military dutv, has been 
passed upon and fully appreciated by the American people for more than 
twenty years. There were those, who reflected on General Harrison for 
his conduct in the very delicate position in which he was placed bv the 
refusal of Croghan to obey his orders; orders, sir, that were the result of a 
council of war composed of oflicers who afterwards distinguished t'lfm- 
selves on the frontier; but the true history of the transaction explained the 
course that was pursued and fnllv justified it. Permit me to refer to a let- 
ter, which I would commend the gentleman to study, before he again in- 
dulges in the strain he has already pursued. 

Lower Srxeca Towv, August 29, 1813. 
The undersigned, being the general, field, and "tafToflicers, with that por- 
tion of the Northwestern armv vmder the immediate command of General 
Harrison, ha"e observed with regret and surpri=!e, that charges, improper in 
the firm as in the substance, have been made against the conduct of Gene- 
ral Harrison during the recent investment of Lower Sandusky. At anoth- 
er time, and under ordinary circum'^tances, we should rleem it improper and 
unmilitary thus puhliclv to give any opinion respecting the movements of 
the armv. B'lt oublic confidence in the commandi'ig feneral is essential 
to the succe<'s of the camoaign, and causelpsslv to withdraw or to with- 
hol lihal confi hnee, is in ire than i'vlivijinl injustice; it becomes a serious 
injury to the service. A part of the force of which the American army 
consists, will derive its greatest strength and efl'icacv from a confidence in 
the commanding general, and from those moral causes which accompany 
and give energy to public opinion. A very erroneous idea, respecting the 



15 

number of the troops then at the disposal of the general, has doubllese 
been the primary cause of those unfounded impressions. A sense of duty 
forbids us from giving a detailed view of our strength at that time. In 
that respect, we have fortuiiaiely experienced a very lavorable cliange. 
But we refer the public lo Uie geneiHl's ollicial report to the Secretary of 
War, of Major Croghan's successful defence of Lower Sandu&ky. Jn that 
will be found a statement of our whtde disposable lorce ; and he who be- 
lieves that with such a force, and under the circumstances which then oc- 
curred, General Harrison ought to have advanced upon the enemy, must 
be left to correct his opinion m the school of experience. 

On a review of the course then adopted, we are decidedly of the opinion 
that it was such as was dictated by military wisdon), and by a due regard 
to our own circumstances, and to the situation of the enemy. The rea- 
sons for this opinion it is evidently improper now to give, but we hold our- 
selves ready at a future period, and when other circumstances shall have 
intervened, to satisfy every man of its correctness who is anxious to in- 
vestigate and willing to receive the truth. And with a ready acquiescence, 
beyond the mere claims of military duty, we are prepared to obey a gene- 
ral whose measures meet our most deliberate approbation, and merit that 
of his country. 

LEWIS CASS, Brig. Gen. U. S. A. 
SAMUEL WELLS, Col. I7ih R. U. S. L 
THOS. D. O WINGS, Col. 28th R. U. S. L 
GEORGE PAULL, Col. 17th R. U. S. I. 
J. C. BARTLETT, Col. Q. M. G. 
JAMES V. BALL, Lieut. CoL 
ROBERT MORRISON, Lieut. Col. 
GEORGE TODD, Maj. 19th R. U.S. I. 
WILLIAM TRIGG, Maj. iSth R. U. S. L 
JAMES SMILEY, Maj. 28ih R. U.S. I. 
RD. GRAHAM, Maj. 1 7th R. U. S. I 
GEO. CROGHAN,Maj. I7th R. U. S. L 
L. KUKILL, Maj. and Ass't Insp. Gen. 
E. D. WOOD, Maj. Engineers. 

Sir, what language did the people of Kentucky hold, after all the difH- 
€ulties I have referred to had transpired > Did they regard the imputa- 
tions now made upon Gen. Harrison as well founded .'' No, sir, their lan- 
guage was that of strong confidence, not of doubt or suspicion — of a deep 
conviction that Gen. Harrison possessed all the qualities of the head and 
the heart to command their implicit reliance. The venerable Shelby 
— and is there a Carolinian here whose soul does not kindle at the name 
of King's mountain ? he, the hero and the patriot, placed himself under the 
command oftliatman who was not in the '■^lire and smoke of Sandusky." 
And need 1 mention Henry and Desha, Allen, Caldwell, King, ChUes and 
Trotter, of Adair and Walker, of Johnson, M'Dowell and Barry, and Crit- 
tenden, who, with their chivalrous troops, fought under his banner ,•' 

Sir, I appeal to the gentleman's colleague, (Mr. Chambers,) who bore an 
honorable part in the events of that period, to sustain me. He was the 
aid-de-camp of Harrison ; and is, thank Heaven, a living witness to this 



IG 

roinmittee ihal his veneiated General was all that his country could ask 
to sustain her safely and her honor. To another colleague of the gentle- 
man, (iMr. Underwood.'! who hears upon iiis hody an honoraVile wound re- 
ceived in Dudley's fatal rencontre, on the Maumee, I would also refer; 
and, before I leave this part of my remarks, permit me to ask the gentle- 
man's otlier colleague, (Col. Johnson,) who, ! have already said, was al- 
ways at the post of danger, to correct me, if I am in error in so important, 
so vital a matter, as the reputation of a soldier. On his recorded evidence, 
and his own generous and just acknowledgment, I would cheerfully rest. 

ftlr. Chairman, we are told that, at the battle of the Thames, Gen. Harri- 
son was in tlie rear of his army, apparently not anxious to expose himself, 
in other words, that he was not inclined to hazard himself in a speedy 
pursuit of the British army ; but, sir, we are furnished with no proof; we 
are pointed to no cotemporary writer who records tlie fact. Let me com- 
mend the gentleman again to go back to the annals of those days, and im- 
prove his recollection and his taste : let me ask him to stud}-, while he is 
thus engaged, tiie exalted sentiment, the high-wrought patriotism, that 
''breathe and burn" throughout the following extracts. Governor Shelby, 
in a letter to General Harrison, dated Frankfort, April 21, 1816, says : 

"Frankfort, April 21, 1816. 

"During the whole of this long and arduous pursuit, no man could 
make greater exertions or use more vigilance than you did to overtake 
Proctor, whilst the skill and promptitude with which you arranged tiie 
troops for battle, and the distinguished zeal and bravery you evinced dur- 
ing its continuance, merited and received my highest approbation. 

"• In short, sir, from the time I joined you to the moment of our separa- 
tion, I believe no commander ever did or could make greater exertions 
than you did to efl'ect the great objects of the campaign. I admired your 
plans, and thought them executed with great energv ; particularly your or- 
der of battle, and arrangements for landing on the Canada shore, were cal- 
culated to inspire every officer and man with a confidence that we could 
not be defeated by any thing like our own number. 

"Until after I had served the campaign of 1813, I was not aware of the 
difficulties which you had to encounter as commander of the northwestern 
army. I have since often said, and still do believe, that the duties assign- 
ed to you on that occasion, were more arduous &nd difficult to accomplish 
than any 1 had ever known confided to any commander; and, with respect 
to the zeal and fidelity with which you executed that high and important 
trust, there are thousands in Kentucky, as well as myself, who believed it 
could not have been committed to belter hands. 

" With sentimeaits of liie most sincere regard and esteem, I have the ho- 
nor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

ISAAC SHELBY. 

Major General William H. Harrison." 

Commodore Perry, who joined the army after the victory on Lake E- 
rie, as the General's volunteer aid, in a note, dated Newport, August 18, 
1817, expresses himself in these unqualified terms : 



17 

"Newport, Aiic[iist 18, 1817. 
"Althou2;h I have little or no protensiniis to militmy knowleclg-e as re- 
lates to ail army, still I may bo allowed ui boar testimony to yoiw zoal and 
activity in the pursuit of the British army under Gen. Proctor, and to say, 
the [>ii»nipt change made by you in die order of battle on disenverinfr the po- 
sition of the enemy,, always lias appeared to me to have evinced a hijjh de- 
gree of military talent. Iconcnr most sincerely with the venerable Gover- 
nonShelby, in his general approbation of your conduct (as far as it came 
under my observation) in that campaign. 

With great regard, T am, mv dear sir, your friend, 

O. H. PERRY. 
Major Gen. W. II. Harrison." 

Sir, I have found these testimonials in the life of Gen. Harrison, publish- 
ed in 18-24, by Closes Dawson, Esq., who is, on this subject, a most disin- 
terested and competent witness. He is row, and always has been, an ar- 
dent, a consistent supporter of the present administration ; he came not in- 
to the party at the eleventh hour, but, acting upon his original principles, 
has ever defended tjie fame of the brave man, whose military services he 
has so faithfully recorded. 

The issue of the battle on the Thames, is known to the world : it sealed 
the permanent success of the American arms in the Northwest ; it rescued 
our territory from British dominion, and drove back to the forest those 
countless savages who had so long desolated our frontier. If, sir, I were 
called on to select a period during the late war, when the spontaneous 
burst of a whole people's gratitude was heard in the village, the town, or 
the city, wherever there was a heart to feel, and a tongue to speak, I 
would point to those more than Pioman triumphs which awaited the con- 
queror of Proctor. 

The gentleman from New York, now in my eye, (Mr. Lee,) cannot have 
forgotten the illumination at Old Tammany, the beautiful transparency in 
front of the venerable wigwam, and the high-wrouglii feeling of that hour, 
when the grand sachem, and the whole tribe of the true democratic buck- 
tails, held their patriotic council in the autumn of 1813. 1 ask him, if he 
was not one of that company, and when the cup was pledged to valor and 
talent, his own soul was not kindled with the common enthusiasm that per- 
vaded every bosom ? Sir, the republicans of that day paid honor to whom ho- 
nor was due ; they were the true American spirits wiio had with pious care, 
collected the rcmams of our valiant countrymen, which had bleached for 
more than thirty years on the shores of Long Islaifd, and bestowed, though 
late, the holy rite of sepulture upon the victims of the Jersey prison-ship. 
They were the friends of Harrison ; and their hearts responded to every 
noble, every glorious impulse. It is not forme to say how many of that 
veteran corps retain tiieir rank, or even place, in the wigwam ; if the ancient 
race has become extinct, and the months of "fruits and of flowers" are ap- 
propriated by m.ore devoted, more sincere, and more disinterested follow- 
ers of the patron saint, it must be matter of high congratulation ; but if that 
hall is now a mere hunting ground, where the spoils of the chase are the 
only rewards, and the destruction of all who do not unite in the sentiment 
as a first principle, then, indeed, the founders of the brotherhood mistook. 
3 



18 

the nature of Man, and established an institution, to which the power of a 
Spanish inquisition bears but a faint resemblance. 

Mr. Chairman, I ask the members of the Key-Stone statfe to recall the 
feeling of their fellow-citizens at that inlere^ting era ; lo peruse, onre more, 
the description of those unsought honors \v)iich a virtuous peoplt' bestow- 
ed upon exalted merit. Can Uiey foroet the 'J Jst ofOcloljer, ISlS, when 
their beautiful city presented, amid the darkness of the night, u sublime, a 
glorious spectacle .'* Sir, the inscriptions thai might then have been rea(l, 
were not of blind devotion to any man, much less of devotion to party; 
they stood out, in letters of fire, and proclaimed the names of Harrison and 
Perry. 

Bull have not done. On the 9th of December, 181.S, a public enter- 
tainment was tendered to Gen. Harrison by the people of Philadelphia, and 
I must be permitted the gratification to read the short but truly republican 
address with which he prefaced the sentiment that such an occasion is ex- 
pected to call forth :| 

''Genderaen," said General Harrison, "permit me to offer a volunteer 
toast, and briefly to stale the motive which prompts me to lake one of the 
regular toasts of die day, as a means of conmninicating my opinion. Be- 
lieving, as I do, that a sentiment is gaining ground unlriendly to republi- 
canism, and injurious lo the nation, and knowing, by my own experience, 
that the sentiment is not well founded, I will give you — 

' The Militia of the United States — They possess the Roman spirit, 
and when our government shall think proper to give theiTi that organiza- 
tion and discipline of which they are susceptible, they will perform deeds 
tlial will emulate those of the legions led by Marcellus and Scipio.' 

And where may we look for a more honorable testimony to the value 
and efiiciency of a well-regulated and disciplined militia.^ It certainly be- 
comes those who would impute lo Gen. Harrison a disregard for liie i'eel- 
ings of the American people, who are, after all, the only American soldiers, 
to pause and reflect, ere lliey cast their anathemas upon one who could ut- 
ter a sentiment so exalted. 

Mr. Cliairman, the Ancient Dominion did not forget, in that hour of gen- 
eral gratulation, one of her gallant sons ; and, sir, she could never, no, ne- 
ver, even in the darkest hour of party violence, forget the father of that son. 
No, sir, while her own annals, while the great charier of our political lib- 
erty remains, the name of Benjamin Harrison will be associated with that 
of Jeflerson, of Randolph, and of lit my. 

Sir, permit me to quote from the Richmond Enquirer, when the news of 
Proctor's defeat reached that city : 

" Gen. Harrison's detailed letter tells us of every thing we wish to know 
about the oflicers except himself. He does justice lo every one buttollar- 
rison, and llie world therefore must do justice to the man ivho toas too mo- 
dest to be just lo himself'' 

Again, what Virginian has not read the proclamation of the Mayor of 
Riciimond, recommending a general illumination, on the evening of No- 
vember 24, 1813, when, guided by the common impulse, he told his fellow- 

• ith Tol. Nilee' Register, 146. \b\li vol. Nilea' Register, 263. 



,19 

townsmen to ' give vent to their feelings — to tliink of Perry, who paved 
the way, and of Harrison, whose intrepid valor had thus nol)ly achieved the 
victory!'* I find lliis procliunation is dated at ten o'clock on the evening 
of Sabbath: and well uiiirht the spirit (tf the old Commonwealth have been 
roused, when, like tlie mother of the Gracclii, she could point to Harrison, 
and claim him as one of her children. Well might the sympathy which 
was then excited in every bosom, have been reijarded as the common pro- 
perty of her people, when, like the torch that was passed from hand to 
hand, in the days of Grecian glory, the holy .fire of gratitude pervaded eve- 
ry heart<as it found there its kindred element. 

Shall I refer to other states, and their patriotic people, to swell the song 
of universal triumph, which echoed from every hill, and spread through 
every valley of tins great republic, when the heart of a whole nation throb- 
bed with tumidtnous joy ? Enough has already been told to rescue, [ 
trust, the memory of the past from this auto da fe of party ; to* place be- 
fore this house and this nation, what was and what is to exhibit the start- 
ling trudi, that no service can be so meritorious, no fame so well deserved, 
no worth so exalted, but that party necessity may doom its destruction, and 
party discipline carry out the sentence. 

It is, Mr. Chairman, a subject of gratulation, that in this war against 
character, our own archives have not yet been destroyed ; that the bright 
page of our country's history, the records even of this house, have not 
been fired by the torch of some modern Omar. There is a memorial of 
public opinion, that may be seen in this day, of darkness standing out, not, 
sir, in letters of gold, but in the sinfiple language of a nation's gratitude. 
Let me refer the committee, and the honorable gentleman also, to the re- 
solution of this house, which passed, without a dissenting voice, in April, 
1818, presenting the thanks of Congress to Harrison and Shelby, and au- 
thorizing the President to bestow on each of them a gold medal for their 
gallantry at the Thames. 

Thus, Mr. Chairn?an, have I followed the gentleman from the Wabash 
to the Thames. 1 have concealed nothing, and, I beheve, spoken naught 
but what the occasion required. The mass of materiuls from which I 
have g-leaned the incidents I have presented, is full of interest, for, sir, it 
cannot be exhausted; and if my remarks shall induce any one who hears 
me to go back to the 'fire and smoke' of past times, I shall feel myself 
amply rewarded for the effort I have made, as I can then assure myself 
his views will become clear, and his judgment thoroughly disabused. 

Sir, the state I have the honor in part to represent, holds in high estima- 
tion the Ameiican Navy ; within her borders that splendid victory was a- 
chieved, which proved to an astonis!)ed world that even a British fleet 
might be conquered. On the bosom of thit mland sea, whose waves had 
never been disturbed but by the strife of the elements, the roar of Ame- 
rican cannon fir^t awoke its slumbering waters; and beneath the soil of 
Ohio, on a boantirul isle of the lake, in the solitude of nature, repose their 
ashes, who fell fighfincr under that flag which bore upon its glorious folds 
the rtiore glorious motto, ' don't give up the ship.' Yes, we hope to pre- 
serve one monument, at least, that shall through all future time proclaim 

* 5th vol. Niles' RegiBler, 147. 



20 

the heiuisiii of ihe past, and serve to |)cr|ietuate tlie honor of the Ameri- 
can arms. Mr. Cliairinan, the bold spirit who directed lliat unrivalled hat- 
tie, and who wherevtr peril was to he met, tiirew hi' self intn the breach, 
has gone to his final account ; but he has left a memorial behind him, a- 
liUe honorable to his exalted generosity and firatifving to the People of 
the West. I allude to the following extract of a letter written shorily af- 
ter the victory : 

"United States' Schooner Ariel, > 
Sei teniher 15. 1S13. > 

Sir: The very great assistance in the action of the lOih inst derived 
from those men you were pleased to send on board the squadron, renders 
it my duty to return you my sincere thanks for so timely a reinforcement, 
(in fact, 1 may say, sir, without these men the victory could not have 
been achitved,) and equally to assure you that they behaved as became 
good soldiers and seamen. Those who were under my immediate obser- 
vation evinced great ardor and bravery.* Very respertfnlly, 

OLIVER H. PERRY. 

Maj. Gen. VV. H. Harrison." 

Sir, the people of Ohio have been told, upon this floor, that injustice 
was done to the militia rf that State by the cimimanding general; that 
their motives were impugned and their eflicieiicy denied. To sustain the 
assertion, a letter of Gen. Harrison's to the Seen tiiry of War his been re- 
ferred to, dated in March, 1813, in which he speahs of the dismay and 
dir^inclination to the service which appeared to prevail in 'the new draughts 
from Ohio;" alludes to the niililia who served during the previous winter 
in the highest terms ; and goes on to remark that he has no doubt that a suf- 
ficient number of good men could be procured. He recommends that they 
should be mounted, and, if sanctioned by that Department, '^Kentucky . 
would furnish some regiments that would not be inferior to those who 
fought at the Raisin." To this letter, sir, we are pointed, and asked to 
sustain the gentleman in the charges he has niade ; my, further, as if he 
gathered confidence by reiterating the accusation, he tells us the people 
of Ohio cannot, and will not, submit to such in)putations ; that they will 
reject any man who hiis done them, as he asselt.-!, such injustice. 

Sir, upon this pan of his attack, the gentleman, if not in the "fire," is 
in the "smoke ;" and, as the clouds clear uj), I trust he will grope his way 
out of the darkness. Before I reply to the inferences he attempts to draw 
from the letter to which healluiles, let me isk him to recur to the "fli- 
cial letters of Washington during the Revolution, and rend the strong 
language he used in relation to the efficiency of new recruits ; no mat- 
ter, sir, from what state they can)e, or in what service they were engaged ; 
let him cast his eye upon tiie communication made to Congress on the 
24th of Sepember, 1776, from Harlairn heitihls ; and I would also com- 
mend the extract to th()se gentlemen from New York, who have evinced 
during this evening, so much anxiety to assi.->t in the destruction of^ne 
who may stand in the way of their chosen leader. '-'J'o place any depeix- 

* Niles' Register, 263. 



21 



dence upon militia, (says Gen. AV.) is assuredly reslina upon a broken 
stafl"; men juwt dragged from the tender scenes of domeslic life ; unac- 
customed to iliedin tf arms; tolally unac.(piainted with every kind (>f mil- 
itary skill ; which, being fallowed by a want of confidence in ihehiselves 
when opposed to troops regularly tiainod, dijcipliued, and • |)ponited, su- 
perior in knowledge, and superior in arms, makes them timid and ready to 
fly from their own shadows/* 

Now, sir, if the gentleman from Kentucky should in an unguarded mo- 
ment, rise in his place, and accuse the Father of his Country wiih injus- 
tice to the men of other day^-, and on such evidence as I have just inr- 
nished, appeal to the people for their sanction upon his eflbrt, whatmis^ht 
he expect? What could he hope for? As well might he endea- 
vor to shut out the light of Heaven, or to interrupt the motion of this 
globe, by the touch of his finger. Again, I w ill come down to our mem- 
ory : The gentleman is now, and always has been, an ardent supporter 
of our venerable President, and yet he cannot have forgotten that preg- 
nant passage in Gen. Jackson's official despatch of January 9, 1815, 
wherein he charged the 'Kentucky reinforcements' to have ' ingloriously 
fled, drawing after them, by their example, the remainder of the force, 
and thus yielding to the enemy a most fonuiiate position.' Here, sir. a 
most blighting accusation was charged upon the people of the gentle- 
man's own State •, and yet the Hero of New Orleans received, in 1828, 
the vote of Kentucky. I make no comment u[)on 'this fact, but merely 
entreat the gentleman to reflect upon what his own Commonwealth did, 
before he asserts that Ohio will abandon the hero of the Thames and of 
Tippecanoe. 

Sir, I regard the paternal care that the gentleman has seen fit to feel 
for Ohio, as gratuitous ; we ask none of his assistance in the manngement 
of our internal concerns ; nor have we so far degenerated, as to invoke 
aid from any state, North or South, to control our political opinions. We 
feel, sir, a debt of gratitude that we can never repay, for the protection re- 
ceived from our Kentucky brethren, from its infancy until the close of the 
late war ', they poured out their blood for us, and the character, the va- 
lue, the perpetuity of all our institutions they have contributed not only 
to establish, but to their disinterested sacrifices vve are essentially indebt- 
ed for each and every of the blessings, we now enjoy. 

But neither the rewards nor the punishments, the gold nor the cunning 
of selfish, heartless and reckless politicians, can aff'ect the people of O- 
hio : they know what is due to themselves, and are not unmindful of 
what is expected from men who have not passed under the yoke of party. 
In the freshness, the vigor, and generosity of their feelings, they may 
sometimes admit, from kindness, what could never be extracted by fear, 
or obtained by fraud; but they will never, I must assure the gentleman, 
and all others who may calculate the chances of political warfare, pernr\it 
themselves to be regarded as a marketable commodity, to be bought- or 
sold in the shambles of any party. Sir, my constituents (and I fed that [ 
speak but the sentiments of my state) are not to be bound and ca.^t in- 
to the furnace; they will never sufTep their strength to be shorn, nor tht:ir 
souls to be fettered •, they know the syren voice of the political Delilah, 



22 

and spurn the shackf -ig, ay, the golden shackles of modem times, as the 
strntiL' man af old bi-rst the bonds of ancient treachery. Yes, they have 
ariinfd from fliis e\ani[)lL' a n<( fill lesson ; thoy nrvm- will siiffor their mo- 
rnl vi-:ion to be so fir obscured as lo 'grind in the prj-^oii-lionse'' at the 
behest of nnv master ; and, more than all, they never can become s6 de- 
praded bv the influence of ofhce, or of |)o\vcr, that when deprived of all 
Sf'lf-rosppct. hniiil)l<Ml, discrract-d, and contemptible, the mere sport and 
mockerv of nni)rinci|'l('d leaders, the cniy privilei/e wiiich remains '-vill be 
to pnll down the pillars of the Constitution, that all may perish in the 
wreck. 

I make no comparison between the candidates for the next Presidency : 
that task I leave to 'others; I am contented to rest the whole. question 
with tlie American people; my object is that of defence, not attack. I 
Iiave attempted to perform tlie oflice of an American citizen, not of a po- 
litical parlizan ; and such. I trust, will ever be my conduct while I hold a 
seat upon this fl"or. I am content to act out my part in this fornm. and 
shall not descend into the arena to minglft in the gladiatorial strife of con- 
tending factions — it is unworthy the representatives of a free People, and 
lessens our own self-respect. Sir, in the ami)hitheatre at Rome, did the 
Roman Senator contend with the Numidian lion, or the Asiatic tiger? 
No; that duty was left to the subjected Thracian — the field of public ho- 
nor was the Senate-house. Let us profit by the example. 

When, Mr. Chairman, Gen. Harrison expressed himself in the language 
to which so much exception is taken, it was truly a period of darkness 
and dismay. The whole frontier of Ohio was threatened by the enemy, 
confident in their strength, and proud with recent success; the people had 
been harrassed by toil, and borne df)wn by privation ; to use the eloquent 
language of Ames, 'in the daytime their pcith through the forest was am- 
bushed, and the darkness of midnight glittered with the blaze of their 
dwellings — when, whore they fathers, the blood of their sons fattened the 
corn-field — when, where they mothers, the war-whoop awoke the slee[> 
of the cradle.' Tes, it was an hour wlien 

" There was silence .still as death, 
And the bravest he'd his breath 
. For a time." 

Under the excitement of such a scene, impressed with the necessity of 
prompt and energetic action, and redizing the weight of the responsibili- 
ty which rested upon him as controlling and directing the defence of that 
extended territory. Gen. Harrison did not disguise his sentiments ; and, 
sir, they were such as had often been more strongly expressed by the 
most distinguished and beloved commanders in our service. Sir, the peo- 
ple of Ohio fully understood the character of their defender, and apiireci- 
aled, with impartial j'lsiice, th« course he pursued ; and. sir, with a full 
kri<;wledge of all the 'alleged injustice' which the geniletuan from Ken- 
tucky insists'h;id been done lo iheui, they siill volunteererl under their for- 
mer leadei', and crowdi-d by thousands to his banner. Until their fron- 
tier was finally rescued froui dinger, and vic'nrv crowned our arms at the 
Thanius, the citizen-soldiers of that noble State followed the fortunes, 
and pariicipated in the triumphs of William Henry Harrison. It ia not for 



23 

me to express, even in guarded term?, an opinion as to lite future cdur.'-t! 
of ti)e freemen ol Ohio, wlieii tli<-y nre called lo exercise a solemn politi- 
cal duly ; tiiey know their privileges, and will preserve tjiem in their pu- 
rity : thev r.eed no fcMeijin counsel lo .^i■si^l iln ir jiid^uK iii, and wdl nev- 
er submit (o any (iicintidn. 1 leave wiili ihe.m the kecpitii; ot their own 
consciences; and I will answer fi'r it, ihey- will do nothing unworthy the 
name or tite character of independent AiLerkan citizens. 

Sir, 1 must he permilled to >ay. in jiislice to the old and tried friends 
of the President, that noseniiniei I is uttered by them, so far as my know- 
ledge has extended, but f>f kindness and honorable feeling toward that dis- 
tinL'uished citizen v\hose well-earned fiiine I havr, in my Iinmble mnnner, 
essayed to sustain. They regarded that fame as the common property 
of the whole country, as a page upon the annals of the Union, to obliterate 
which would be to blot out part of our common history. But, Mr. Chair- 
man, the late converts to //ie par/y, those who, like the followers of a camp, 
have never fought for victories nor exposed themselves to defeat, who 
have made no sacrifices, nor given a word of cheer in the hour of trial — in 
their zeal for future promotion, and in the hope ofswelling the roll of the 
faithful at another period — these, sir, vulmre-likc, have sharpened their 
beaks for this carnival of blood. From such enemies Gen. Harrisoa has 
nothing to expect; and, let me tell them, lie has nothing to fear. Such en- 
emies, if in the great political conflict that is soon to be fought, whether 
flefeated or successful, would, in their appetite for the spoils, strip the 
dead and the wounded of their own army ere they left the battle-field. — 
{ must acquit the gentleman from Kentucky from the suspicion of being a 
late convert; he has always been, I am assured, a decide^, a devoted friend 
of the present Executive; and I could not have expected that he would 
have pursued tlie course he has from the estimate I have formed of the 
generosity of his chiir^cter. Even now, I regard tke observations he has 
made as the result of impulse rather than reflection. He is yet young, the 
frost of acre has not yet whitened his brow, nor time's wrinkles furrowed his 
cheek; but the hour « ill come, when, in the solitude rf his osNn mind, he 
must look back on the scenes of the last few days: when, perchance, the 
prattling child upon his knee will read the record of this House, and ask 
why it was that an old war-worn soldier became the object of so much 
censure. If the gentleman can reply to such a question in the same spir- 
it he has spoken on this floor, 1 shall be disappointed in my estimate of hu- 
man nature. We are told by the Irish bard, wlio has but unveiled theheart, 
that there may be 

"A fatal remembrance, a sorrow that throws 
Its black shade alike o'er our joys and our woes; 
O'er which lite nothing brighter nor darker can flin?. 
For which joy had no blame, and affliction no sting." 

But, sir, the gentleman has not the merit of originality in his censure; 
the epithets he has used are not of modern growth, they have been dug 
up from the ruins of former att;icks ; their form is not new, nor is ihoir 
point even improved. And. at thi; present time, the ground is pre-occu- 
pied by a citizen of New York, who has, in the decline of his life, and the 
bitterness of his disappointed ambition, scattered his arrows with an un- 



24 



sparing hand; but he cannot reach his mark. Better had it been that he 
sliould have rested sali^lifd with his Ne-.vbiirg letKrs, and the memorable 
^e^<'luri<)n of his broll:er ollicers/ijassed at Nuw Windsor, 15th of March, 
]7S3; better even wo ild it linve Ijceii that he had been content vtith the 
iiibiite vvliich is paid to hirn in the '-Memi irs 6f Wilkin.-^on ;■' and still 
bvller had iieVeiiKiiiied sati.s!'cd with all the mditury honors wiiich were 
galljered in siicii pri>riision when this Capitol was in flames, and the ar- 
chives of our Republic plundered by a foe whose step never should have 
profaned onr soil. I know riot why at tliis juiictnre (hero is euch a re- 
surrection, noi of what ulcvates and honors the country, but rallicr tends to 
degrade it. Ii is not for me to assign the rnotive*why the meridian of Al- 
bany is selected as ilie place ofattack,of irial, aiid of execution. I l.nive 
the soluiion of tiiis with those who may be in the secret, and ask them to 
account for the straige coincidence between the publication of the 
"Sketches" and that of another work, at Hartford, professing to be the 
bioarapliy of a di.^inguished politician. Sir, are praise and censure, flat- 
tery and al)iise, to be mingled up to gratify or improve the public taste, or 
is it that no political elevation can be hoped for, until every rival is dis- 
posed of, no matter by what means? 

Mr. Chairman, it does not become me to ask who it is that has conjured 
up from the dead, like the sorcerers of old, this haggard skeleton of bu- 
ried slander; whose magical wand has beckoned this ghost from the realms 
of shade. 1 knew that sea and land wo :ld be compassed, but I could not 
have believed that even the most devoted partisan would have wandered 
upon the banks of Styx, and held communion with shadows. Isee, now, 
that fancy and fact are alike to be used; that the wea|ons of party war- 
fare are not selected by any known rule, but are chosen at random, and he 
who employs them most dexterously is regarded as an adept in political 
tactics. Sir, the doomed victim must be laid low; and whether he falls 
fidhting on the la.-t battlement offreedom, or like the bird of Jupiter, the 
shaft w"hich is to pierce him is to be winged by a feather from his own 
pinion, it is all one, the sacrifice must be made. 

Sir, before 1 conclude, I n)ust be permitted to recur to the early history 
ot'tJhio to whicii 1 have already once alluded. It was when that now 
populous State was an unbroken fore.st, wiien her now fertile soil was un- 
tilled,and the stars oflleaven shone upon the solitude of a trackless wil- 
derness that Gen. Harrison, then in the flower of hisyouth, left the home 
of his infancy, the comforts, the pleasures, the consolation of family and 
friends and united himself with the army of the Northwest, immediately 
after the defeat of St. Clair. It was no momentary i<ii|)idse which prompt- 
ed him to cross \on rugged mountains, and hazard iiis life in an entcrpri/e, 
where none but his iinmediale associates could witness his valor; and if he 
fell none but his fHow .soldiers could perform the last sad oflices of 
friendship. It was but the germ of that chi\alrieS|>irit which, in after years, 
expanded in idi fulness and power; and in the mid.^t of trial, and danger, 
whetiier cheered by the voice of friends, or assailed by the bitterness of en- 
emies, has proudly sustained him. 

Sir in December 17!).'^, Harrison, then lieutenant, was despatched with 
'.olhcr'ofiicers, by Cien. Wayne, to take possession of the battle ground of 



25 



St. Clair. Tlio duty w;it! poribrinei],aiul llio remain.-^ of more than 600 
brave men, who fell in that bloody renrontrcwere colloctcd together and 
honorably interred. Upon this spot Fort Recovery was then erected, 
which afterwards became celebrated in the annalg of ^Vestern warfare. 

In the decisive victory at the rapids of the Maiimee, in 1793, Harrison 
served as the aid-de-camp of VVayne, and received the mo-^t flattering en- 
comiums from his commander: that victory, sir. was obtained under the 
guns of a British fort, against a savage force, led by warlike and talented 
chiefs, and aided by their British allies. Here our youthful soldier laid the 
foundation of that military skill which afterwards, on the same field, in the 
trenches at Fort ftleigs, displayed itself in all its lustre. Sir, the siefTO of 
that fortress is a bright era in our annals; it was there the militia of Ohio 
behaved like veteran soldiers, and acquired imperishable honors; it wag 
there the intrepid Kentucky volunteers came to the rescue, and free- 
ly poured out their blood. Sir. there is a tie of brotherhood between Ohio 
and Kentucky, that cannot, that must not be severed; we have been join- 
ed in solemn, in holy fraternity, by all that is precious in self-sacrifice, and 
all that is lofty in gratitude, and no time.no change, must sunder us. 

Mr. Chairman, I feel that I shall conclude my remarks: the deep, the 
kind attention of the committee, for the long oeriod I have tresspassed up- 
on their patience, demand my sincere acknowledgements, and they are, let 
me assure them, freely bestowed. 

Sir, 1 have not time to detail the civil services of Gen. Harrison; it is no 
part of my purpose to do so, though the materials for a proud exhibition 
of all the qualities of the statesman are at hand; they are ample, they are, I 
can assure the gentleman, already known to the people, and will become 
more familiar as that people rising above party trammels, shall revievy the 
history of the past with the freedom that belongs to every pntriot citizen. 

Sir, the reputation of the American soldier is the property of the whole 
Union: no portion of the wide confederacy can exclusively appropriate it. 
"Far as the winds can waft, or billows roll," every true American will 
claim an interest in the fame of those who have conferred glory on his 
country : there is no clime so barbarous, no Government so despotic, but 
has heard the story of our triumphs; and in the darkest hour of human lib- 
erty, when, under the rule of the Muscovite, or the tyranny of the Turks, 
the heroic struggles against power have been crushed, and the energies of 
the soul subdued, thelast hope of freedom has been killed at her altar in 
the new, let us, sir, preserve the temple, and the flame, that like the eter- 
nal fire of the vestal, should burn there forever. Let us not anticipate 
that fearful period when our land shall present an unbroken scene of 
'darkness' and 'gloominess,' when, like morning spread upon the moun- 
tains, our sky shall be hung with blackness. We live in a momentous e- 
ra, and on us is imposed a tremendous duty; if we are faithful to ourselves, 
our country, and our Gon, our Government will still go on as a giant in 
his strength; but if we are recreant to our solemn obligations, and, in the 
paltry strife of party, disregard the claims of those who have nobly strug- 
gled to sustain our Republic in her infancy as well as her strength, then, 
.'^ir, the pillars of our political edifice are already shaken, and, eie long, 
the proud, the once glorious structure will fall to the dust. 
4 



LIFE OF GENERAL HARRISON. 



The administration of Gen. Jackson is drawing to a close, and the People 
are once more called upon to choose their Chief Magistrate. The question, 
Avho shall be his successor, involves in its solution the policy and character of 
the Government for many years to come. 

A struffole is about to take place between the governors and the governed, be- 
tween theoflice holders and the People — between the trainbands of power and 
the independent Citizens of the Country. On one hand Ave have presented to 
us the name of Martin ran Burcn of New York, as the candidate of the office 
holders; on the other hand the name of William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, 
as the candidate of the People. 

It is the object of the following brief sketch to revive in the inemory of the 
old, and present to the notice of the young, the character and services of the can- 
didate of the people. For this purpose nothing more is necessary than brevity 
and truth. It forms no part of the object either to affect the graces of composi- 
tion, or to palm upon th.e public a mere eulogy of a favorite candidate, but rath- 
er to present to them a simple unadorned narrative, the value of which shall 
consist in its historic truth. 

The following sketch is ch;iwn from the public records and sources of the 
mostauthcnlic information, and may be relied upon as perfectly accurate in its 

details. 

William Henry Harrison was born in the year 1773, in the state of Vir- 
ginia, and wa.s the third son of Benjamin Han-ison of thatstate. His father was 
one of the patriots of the Revolution, a member of the old revolutionary Con- 
gress, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and subsequently 
Governor of the state of Virginia. 

Benjamin Harrison died in 1791, Avhen his son William was about 18 years 
of age; so that the early period of his life when impresssions are deepest, was 
passed in the best school of politics and with the best models before him. 

After his father's death, he in the first instance, by the advice of his friends, 
turned his attention to the study of medicine. At this period however a general 
state of excitement and alarm prevailed along the whole frontier bordering on 
the Ohio river, from the depredations and inurders committed by the. Indians, 
and young Harrison participating in the patriotic feeling of the times, resolved 
to enter the service of his country. 

Some idea may be formed of the posture of affairs and of the nature and ser- 
vice he was to render, when it is recollected that it was on the 4th of Novem- 
ber in the year 1791 , that Gen. St. Clair with an army of 1400 men Avasdefeated 
by the Indians Aviih the loss of nearly 1000 men in killed and A\'ounded, inclu- 
ding some of his best officers. 

He received his first appointment as Ensign in the first regiment of Infantry 
from Gen. Washinirtnn in November 1791, and Avas subsequently appointed by 
him in February 1793 a Lieutenant in the first sub-legion. In July 1797, he 
Av^as appointed a captain in the first regiment of Infantry by John ./Idams, then 
President of the United States. This appointment however he resigned in the 
folloAving year, and determined to abandon the profession of arms and seek em- 
ployment and distinction in the walks of civil life. 

During the intervening period of seven years from 1791 to 1798, Avhile encoun- 
tering the toils, the privations and the perils of Indian and border Avarfare, h? 



27 

served under tlie celebrated General .Inthouy ll'iiyne, and \v:is selected by him 
as one of his Aids-do-camp. From iliis distinguished f.'ommander he received 
the highest marks ot confidence and esteem, and was with him at the battle, of 
the Miami, in August 1794, when lie achieved a signal victory over his savage 
foes. 

His employment and liis services have hitherto been of a military character, 
but in the year 179S, when ho was about 25 years of age, he received from Jno. 
Adams, then President of tho United States, thoappointmentof Secretary of the 
Territory Northwest of the River Ohio. 

In this post, Avhich was of a civil nature altogether, he rendered himself so 
popular, by his urbanity, intelligence, and propriety of deportment, that he was 
electedby the citizens of that 'rerritory, their first delegate to the Congress of the 
United States, and took las seal in the House of Repre.'^entatives at the com- 
mencement of tlie first session of the sixth Congress in December 1799. 

Being the delegate from a Territory and not the representative of a State, he 
was admitted to a seat on the Hoor of Congress witli the right of debating, but 
not of voting on any question. 

His first efforts were directed to the accomplishment of a matter in which the 
vital interests of his constituents, particularly the poorer class of them, were 
concerned. This was tu procure a change in the mode of disposing of the pub- 
lic lands, which from the size of the tracts sold, and places of sale, put it out of 
the power of the poorer emis^rants to purchase them; throwing as a consequence 
the whole business in the hands of speculators, and thus retarding the settlement 
of the country. By dint of industry and perseverance he accomplished the ob- 
ject, notwithstanding the powerful opposition which the measure met with, from 
the capitalists of the country. 

At this session of Congress, the North Western Territory, which had hitherto 
embraced all the country lying to the North Avest of the Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
and the territories of Michigan, and what is now called the Northwestern Terri- 
tory, was divided into two parts; so much of it as comprised the present state of 
Ohio, and Michigan Territory, continued to retain the old name, and the rest 
comprising the present states'of Indiana, and Illinois, and the present Northwest 
Territory, was called Indiana Territory. 

The Act of Congress which was approved by the President on the 7th May 
1800, became a law on that day, and on the 12th May 1800, five days afterwards, 
JVilliam Henry Harrison was nominated by him to the Senate as the first Gov- 
ernor of the Indiana Territory, in compliance with the earnest and express wish- 
es of the people of that Territorv. On the following day the nomination was 
confirmed by the Senate. We liave been thus particular in noting this appoint- 
ment, because the adversaries of Mr. Harrison have had the audacity to declare 
that his appointment was one of those usually called the midnight appointments 
of John Adams. Whereas in truth it was made ten months before the expira- 
tion of his term of office, Avhich closed on the 4th March 1801; and six months 
before even the election took place which was to settle the question as to his 
successor — Mr. Harrison was at this time about 27 years of age. 

If we reflect for a moment on the nature of the powers, which were conferred 
by this appointment, and the delicate situation, in which he was placed, from 
h'is immediate connexion with the Indians, fickle, treacherous, and prone to 
Avar as they are, it is difficult to conceive a stronger proof of the estimation in 
which he was held, and of the high opinion entertained of his moderation, and 
capacity for civil government. 

By this appoinmient, he became commander-in-chief of the Militia, with the 
right of appointing all officers in it, below the rank of general officers. Before 
the organization of the general assembly, he was to appoint such magistrates and 
other civil officers, in each county or township, as he should find necessary, 
for the preservation of peace and good order, and together with the Judges, to 



28 

adopt and piiUisli such laws uf Uie oriijiual states, criminal and civil, as tliey 
should think nt-cessary and suited to the circumstances of the district, possess- 
ing himself aloi:e the power to lay out the counties and townships. After the 
organization of the general assembly, he was to form part of it, having an abso- 
lute veto upon all their proceedings, with the power to convene, prorogue, and 
dissolve the assembly, when he thought proper. To these A'arious powers Avas 
added that of Superintendant of Indian allairs. ' 

The term of office was limited by law to three years, and at the expiration 
therefore of any one term, unless his conduct had been perfectly satisfactory to 
the Government and to the people over whom he presided, he might have been 
superseded without the harshness of removal from oflico. Yei he administered 
the civil government of that country, for the term o( thirteen years from the 
year 1800 to 1813, bring reappointed twice by Mr. Jefferson, namely, in 1803 and 
1806, and once by Mr. Madison in 1809. 

He is thus seen to have received the strongest marks of confidence and appro- 
bation, from three different Presidents, and four different Senates of the United 
Stales. 

In the year 1809, the house of Representatives of Indiana Ten-itory unani- 
mously requested his reappointment in the following terms extracted from the 
resolution: "They cannot forbear recommending to and requesting of the Pres- 
ident and Senate, most earnestly in their own' name, and in the name of their 
constituents, the appoinlment of their present Governor Wm. II. Harrison — 
because he possesses the good wishes and affection of a great majority of his 
fellow citizens; — because they believe liim sincerely attached to the Union, the 
prosperity of the United States, and the administration of its government ; — be- 
cause they believe him, in a superior degree capable of promoting the interest of 
our Territory, from long experience and laborious attention to its concerns, from 
his influence with the Indians and wise and disinterested manage laent of that 
department, and because they have confidence in his virtues, talents and repub- 
licanism.^^ 

But in addition to these extensive powers, he was in the year 1803, appoint- 
ed by Mr. Jefferson, with the advice and consent of the Senate, "commissioner 
to enter into any treaties which maybe necessary with any Indian tribes, north- 
west of the Ohio, and within the territory of the United Slates, on the subject of 
iheir boundaries or lands." Under the power thus given, during the period of 
his civil administration as Governor, he negotiated alone, thirteen treaties with 
different tribes for extinguishing, their title to lands within that extensive, impor- 
tant and fertile region of country. 

Until the year 181 1, Gen. Harrison had been able from his knowledge of the 
Indian character and skilful management of their affairs, to keep his savage 
neighbors in cheek, and to preserve the peace and security of the frontier settle- 
ments. About this period however, our affairs with England drawing to a cri- 
sis, the Briiish traders availed themselves of the natural turbulence and love of 
plunder which characterizes the Indian, to instigate them to acts of violence and 
depredation, and actually furnished them with arms, and equipments for war. 

To their inlluence Avas added thai of the ShaAvnf^se Prophet, 01-liAva-chi-ca, 
the brother of the celebrated Tecumseh, and these deluded tribes began to renew 
those scenes of desolation and blood, in the conflagration of dwellings, and the 
murder of Avhole families, Avhich had before draAvn doAvn upon fhem, the ven- 
geance of the American people. 

In November 181 1, Gov. Harrison, Avith the troops under his command, pro- 
ceeded to the Prophet's tOAvn, on the Wabash, at the junction with the Tip])eca- 
noe. for the purpose of restoring tranquility. 

Alter a march of thirty days, he arrived there on the 6th of NoA'ember. and 
the Indians, as usual, met him with protestations. of friendsliip, and the pro- 
mise to hold a council the following day for the settlement of all com- 



29 

plaints. On the foUowini^ day lioAvevcr in iIk; ir|uuiii of u dark and 
cloudy morninc: thoy assailud his camp with savam- ydls. 15utlhcy did not as 
they expected lind him unprepared. 'I'liearuiy Iku! heen Piicaiiipcd' in the or- 
der ofballle, and the troops reposed Avith llicir clothes and accoutrements on, 
and their arms at their sides — a de.sperate conflict ensued, in which the Indians 
manifested uncommon ferocity, but ■which ended in their total defeat, and they 
abandoned their town, leaving beliind them their provisions and aJmost eVery 
thing they possessed. 

The President, Mr. Ma iJisoN, in coraraunicating tlie despatches to Congress; 
expressed himself as follows : ''Congress will see with satisfaction the dauntless 
spirit and torlitude victoriously displayed by every description of the troops en- 
gaged, as well as the collected iirmncss which distinguished their commander 
on an occasion requiring the utmost exertions of valor and discipline." 

The Legislature of Indiana in their address to Governor Hauiuson, noticed 
the event in the following terms — '■The House of Representatives of Indiana 
Territory in their own mane ami in bthdf of their constituents, \nost cordially 
reciprocate the congratulations of your Excellency on the glorious result of the 
late sanguinary conflict with the Shawnese Prophet, arid "the tribes of Indians 
confederated with him ; Avhen we see displayed in behalf of our country, not 
only the consummate abilities of the General, but the heroism of the man ; and 
when we take into view the benefits whicli must result to that country from 
those exertions, we cannot for a moment whhhold our meed of applause." 

The subject was likewise noticed by the Legislature of Kentucky, notwith- 
standing the loss she had sustained in some of her most valued citizens, in the 
following terms — " Resolved, that in the late campaign against the Indians on 
the Wabash, Gov. W. H. HARnisoN has.inthe opinion of this Legislature, be- 
haved like a hero, a patriot, and a General; and for his cool, deliberate, skilful 
and gallant conduct in the battle of Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest thanks 
of the nation." 

On the 18th of June 1812 war was declared by the United States against 
Great Britain, and Governor Harrison was in that year appointed a Brigadier 
General in the Army of the United Slates. 

In the course of the year. General Hull, to whom had been confided the com- 
mand of the North-western army, made his shameful surrender at Detroit, put- 
ting the British in possession of his whole foree, and of a large region of coun- 
try. This mortifying and disastrous event, gave new zeal and hopes to the sav- 
age foe; the intelligence was spread with rapidity, from the Lakes to the Gulf 
of Mexico, and the torch of war was lighted along the whole frontier of the 
United States. 

In the surprise, alarm, grief and indignation of the moment, public sentiment 
pointed to General Harrison, as the man, who was equal to the exigencies of 
the occasion, and accordingly to him was confided, as Commander in chief, the 
difficult and dangerous duty of repairing the mischiefs which had been inflict- 
ed upon the country. 

This appointment was conferred upon him by Mr. Madison, at the earnest 
request and recommendation of the west, including Governor Shelby and Hen- 
ry Clay. His first efforts were to assemble and organise a suitable army. In 
May 1813, he sustained a siege for thirteen days, at Fort Meigs, conducted by 
a superior combined force of British troops and Indians under General Proctor 
and Tecumseh, from which they were repulsed with signal success. During 
the siege ISOO shells and balls Avere fired upon the fort, as well as a continual 
discharge of small arms maintained. 

In the fall of the year, the glorious victory of Perry on Lake Erie, having 
given the Americans the command of the Lake, Genertil Harrison determined 
to invade Canada, and carry the war into the enemy's country. 

His troops were accordingly tansported to the Canadian shore, by the victo- 



30 

rioiis fleet of IVrrv. and having landed below MalJeii and taken possession of 
tliat place, lie iliiached a force to take possession of Detroit, and then pursued 
his flying enemy to the banks of the Thames. 

Here on the 5ih of October 1813, he found Genl. Proctor, Avitli upwards of 
GOO regulars, and 1201) Indians under Tecuuiseh, posted to receive him. They 
occupied a narrow strip ol land, with the river on one side and a swamp on the 
other ; their left resting upon the river, supported by artillery, their right upon 
the swamp covered by tlie whole Indian force. 

Occupying thus the whole space, a more extended front could not be present- 
ed to them, than their own, and no advantage taken of superiority of numbers 
if any existed. 

By a bold and brilliant manof^uvre the fate of the battle was instantly decided. 
General Harrisun ordered the Regiment of mounted infantry to be drawn up in 
close column and at full speed to charge the enemy. The shock was irresisti- 
ble. The British troops gave way on all sides, and GOO regulars including 25 
officers laid down their arms and became prisoners of war. The Indians con- 
tinued to light with great and desperate courage, but were finally routed, and 
their celebrated Chief Tecumseh slain in the field. 

In this decisive battle, the venerable Governor Shei-ey, a hero of the Revo- 
lution, commanded under General Harrison, tlie Kentucky Volunteers — Gen- 
eral Cass, the present Secrelary of War, and Commodore Perry acted as his 
volunteer Aids. 

All the official papers of General Proctor Avere taken, and he himself escap- 
ed with great difhculty from his pursuers : property to the amount of a million 
of dollars was captured ; and three pieces of brass canon, trophies of the Rev- 
olutionary war, Avhich had been taken from the British at Saratoga and York, 
and surrendered by Hull at Detroit, were recovered. 

This brilliant achievement, in which the American army was composed of 
volunteer militia Infantry, one Regiment of volunteer mounted Infantry, and on- 
ly 120 regulars, put a period to the strife of arms in that quarter. Tlie din of 
war was hushed ; the husbandman returned to his plough, and the peaceful 
occupations of civil life were resumed. 

Here ends the military career of General Harrison, and that title and that 
character which was accepted when duty and the circumstances of the limes 
required it, was cheerfully laid aside, when there was no longer a patriotic mo- 
tive for its retention. 

In the year 181G, Mr. Harrison was elected to Congress as a member of the 
House of Representatives from the state of Ohio. In that station he served 
until the year 1819, when he was chosen a member of the State Senate. 

In 1824 he was elected a Senator of the United States, by the Legislature of 
Ohio, and continued to serve with ability, in that distinguished body, until the 
year 1828; when he was appointed by Mr. Adams Envoy Extraordinary, and 
Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Columbia. 

There he was received in the first instance with that attention which was due 
to his distinguished character, and to the Minister of a great Republic : but be- 
fore he had the opportunity of rendering any important services to his country, 
he was recalled by President Jucksun to make room for some claimant upon 
*' the spoils of victory." 

Since the period of his return to the United Slates in 1S29, he has continued 
to pursue his civil occupations at home. 

William Henry Harrison is now a1)(jut G2 years of age, but from his active 
and temperate habits, he enjoys in their lull vigor, his moral and physical pow- 
ers. In his manners he is plain, frank, and unassuming; in his disposition 
cheerlui. kind, and generous. With oi)pi>rtiinities of amassing wealth, diu'ing 
his long administration of Indian allair.s, while Governor of Indiana, unless re- 



31 

strained by th^ most delicate and scrupulous inlogriiy. yet he came out of the 
service of his country with diminished means. 

He is a man of liberal education, of broad and slatesnian-like views and ar- 
dent patriotism. In a speech delivered by him, at a public dinner given to him 
in Madison, Indiana, in August 1830,, after explaining in an able and satisfacto- 
ry manner, the importance ofextending the home market, and protocling the in- 
dustry of our people, from foreign competition, we find him giving uaerance to 
the folIoAving sentiments — " I believe that the continuance of the tariff is es- 
sential to the prosperity of the Western states ; but I should be among the first 
to propose its modification, or repeal, if it is found to produce to the Southren 
states, the ruinous consequences they predict. No honest man can enjoy a pros- 
perity founded upon the sufferings of^ a friend and brother." 

During the whole period of his Military service, amidst all the privations and 
sufferings of a war carried on in an uninhabited country covered with swamps . 
and Avoods, he never caused a militia soldier to be punished. Yet no General 
ever commanded the' confidence and obedience of the militia to a greater extent 
— on being asked how he had managed to gain the control over them which 
he possessed, he answered ; " By treating them with affection and kindness — 
by ahvays recollecting that they are my fellow citizens, whose feelings I was 
bound to respect, and sharing on every occasion the hardships they loere obliged 
to undergo.'" 

In September 1829, Avbile residing at Bogota as Minister Plenipotentiary of 
the United States to the Republic of Columbia, he addressed a letter to Gene- 
ral Bolivar, at that time President of the Republic, but who it was feared inten- 
ded to subvert the Republican Government, and assume Despotic power. — The 
object was to dissuade him from taking so fatal a step ; and the whole letter is 
replete with the soundest views and the most noble sentiments. Towards its 
conclusion is to be found the following paragraph — 

" To yourself the advantage would be as great as to the country ; like acts of 
mercy, the blessings would be reciprocal ; your personal happiness secured, and 
your fame elevated to a height which would have but a single competition in 
the estimation of posterity. In bestowing the palm of merit the world has be- 
come wiser than formerly. The successful warrior is no longer regarded as en- 
titled to the first place in the temple of fame. Talents of this kind have become 
too common, and too often used for mischievous purposes to be regarded as they 
once were. In this enlightened age the mere hero of the field, and the success- 
ful leader of armies may for a moment attract attention. But it will be such as 
is bestowed upon the passing meteor, whose blaze is no longer remembered 
when it is no longer seen. To be esteemed eminently great , it is necessai-y to 
be eminently good. The qualities of the Hero and the General must be devo- 
ted to the advantage of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the ti- 
tle of their benefactor : and the station he will hokl in their regard and affections 
will depend not upon the number and splendor of his victories, but upon the 
results and the use he may make of the influence he acquires by them." 

We thus perceive that the influence of that school in which he had been 
reared had not been lost upon him. Born and bred among the heroes of the 
Revolution, drawing his principles fresh from the fountain of American liber- 
ty, his whole life has been spent in the service of his country. 

But great as his military services have been, they do not compare in duration 
or importance Avith his civil labors. Out of a period of thirty-seven years of 
public employment, eight or nine have been spent in bearing arms amidst the 
perils of Indian and British warfare, but more than twenty in high and respon- 
sible offices of civil trust. 

He has been nominated by the people not because of his military services 
and talents, but because he is possessed o( civic attainments, experience and mod- 



LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 




32 011 895 585 7 



erotion of charailcr, which make him a suitable aiul safe Candidate for the 
oflicc; of President. 

Nothing could present a stronger contrast than the cliaracter and qualifications 
ofWii>LiAM Henrv IIakkison, the C'«H(//rf«<fo/</ic 7'eo7)[f, and those of Mr. 
Van Buren. the Candidate of tiie Offi,ce holders; the latter of wliom has spent 
his life amidst petty intrigues and in ihe mire of New York politics, remarka- 
ble al il<e for a crafty rnnreahnent of purposes and opinions and unremitted eflforts 
at personal aggrandizement. 



On the 30th of September, 1835, there was aBuck-Eye calebration at Cin- 
cinnati of the anniversary of the first naming of Fort Hamilton, where Cin- 
cinnati now .stands. A number of eloquent addresses were made, among 
others, Gen'l. Robert T. Lytle, formerly a Van Burenmember of Congress, 
made a speech, from which we take the following extract in relation to Gen'l . 
Harrison, the candidate for President. 

"It is true, that that gentleman and myself are now, as we have for some time ' 
been, opposed to each other in some of our Aaews, perhaps in most, as to the 
public men and measures of the day: but were we as widely separated as the 
poles, I can neither be made to forget his virtues, nor withhold from him just 
commendation for his many eminent services. Sir, I would be a traitor to my 
own nature, if I found myself capable of disparaging the claims of a public ser- 
vant so eminent, so well tried, and Avhose life has been a history of so much use- 
fulness and gallantry, as that of Gen. Harrison. Rather than rob the temples 
of that time-worn and justly honored public servant of a single laurel, I would 
choose, injustice and gratitude, to heapchaplets on his brow. vSir, the miserable 
spirit of partisan warfare and detraction, as displayed by most of the journals, on 
both sides, nay on all sides of tlie question for the Presidential succession, I de- 
precate from my heart. The spirit that will admit of no good, out of the mere 
party range, and Avhicli dooms to infamy all that cannot reach his standtrd of 
parly purity — a spirit which invades the peace and ])erverts the purpose of so- 
cial harmony and union — all good men should frown upon. 'Render uiito_ Cae- 
sar the things that are Caesar's,' is the injunction of Divine Wisdom : and in all 
cases where we depart from this principle, the degradation and the cvd are tobt 
ineasured only by the extent of its infraction." • 



